FOXBORO – In the span of a few hours on Sunday, the New England Patriots’ season went from a “Help Wanted” sign (as in, please help us get into the playoffs because we can’t do it by ourselves) to one of those Old West “Wanted – Dead or Alive” posters.

You need to blame somebody for 11-5 and no more games to play? Start with these varmints, who robbed the stagecoach and made off with New England’s postseason invitation:

Bernard Pollard

Chiefs safety. Purdue grad. Hails from Ft. Wayne, Ind. Ruined Tom Brady’s left knee in Week 1. Might have heard of him. True, Matt Cassel did a terrific job filling in, but do you think Brady could have delivered one more, playoff-clinching win? Pollard will become even more of a villain around here if it turns out that Brady’s 2009 season is in jeopardy.

If it’s any consolation, Kansas City finished an all-time worst 2-14, got outscored, 440-291, and ranked 28h or lower in 10 defensive categories. Only the 0-16 Lions allowed more yards, and KC also set a record for fewest sacks in a 16-game season with 10. “That’s awful,” defensive end Jason Babin told reporters in Cincinnati Sunday. No, that’s karma, baby.

Brett Favre/Eric Mangini

Whom do you hate more? The broken-down quarterback (How many picks do you think he threw in that Wrangler ad before they got him to complete a pass?) or the puffy head coach (he looked positively inflated on Sunday) who has already gotten the ax? The Jets lusted so badly after Favre that they kicked Chad Pennington to the curb, where he was scooped up by the Dolphins just in time to resurrect their division-winning offense. Nice.

When the Patriots needed Favre to be Bad Brett, he was Good Brett (258 yards, 2 TDs in the 34-31 OT win up here in November). And when they needed him to be Good Brett, he was Bad Brett (3 INTs in Sunday’s loss to the Dolphins). Figures. Mangini presided over an epic collapse that at first seemed to benefit the Patriots but ultimately wound up burying them. Darn you, Wesleyan.

Chad Pennington/Bill Parcells

You knew the Tuna would get Miami turned around. Just not this quickly. Finding Pennington next to the Jets’ recycling bins turned out to be a godsend, as he threw for 19 TDs and 3,653 yards to become, in terms of passer rating, the best Dolphins QB since the 1984 edition of Dan Marino.

That was dumb luck, but give Parcells credit for finding the right GM (Jeff Ireland) and coach (Tony Sparano) and for making a clean break with the past by dumping franchise icons Zach Thomas and Jason Taylor. Parcells’ fingerprints are all over this franchise now, and even if he bolts for his next gig he’s given Miami a solid foundation upon which to challenge the Patriots.

Page 2 of 3 - Whoever blew the third-and-15 coverage in overtime against the Jets: It was the single worst play of the Patriots’ 2008 season. The Pats had staged a miraculous comeback to force OT with Randy Moss making a ridiculous, falling-out-of-the-end-zone TD catch against Ty Law with no time left in regulation. The Jets got the ball to start the OT and quickly fell into a huge hole at their own 15. Force a punt there and it’s 99 percent certain that the Patriots win.

Instead, somebody – it appeared to be rookie linebacker Jerod Mayo, who had a wonderful season otherwise – forgot to cover tight end Dustin Keller, who was wide open for a 16-yard catch that extended what became the winning drive. Defensive coordinator Dean Pees admitted that the Patriots “blew” the coverage on that play, and it came back to haunt them.

Fernando Bryant

Why blame a guy who didn’t even make the Week 1 roster? Because after Asante Samuel followed the money to Philly as a free agent, the Patriots went bargain-hunting for his replacement and came home with the trio of Bryant, Lewis Sanders and Jason Webster. Bryant was the designated heir apparent, but he got trucked by Giants WR Darcy Johnson in the preseason finale (part of a brutal overall performance) and was a surprise casualty in the final roster cutdown.

Jettisoning him forced the Patriots to turn to Bengals castoff Deltha O’Neal, who started fast but was demoted after a wretched, Duane Starks-esque showing against the Steelers in Week 13. The Patriots allowed 27 TD passes – the second-highest total in the league – and crummy cornerback play was the main culprit.

Jay Cutler/Derek Schouman

With his team trailing, 34-0, on the final play of the third quarter in Week 7, Cutler, the Broncos’ QB, scrambled for a 6-yard gain. In chasing him, safety Rodney Harrison tore his right quad and was lost for the season – a devastating blow to a secondary that needed all the help it could get. Three weeks later, Schouman, a Bills tight end, was blocking linebacker Adalius Thomas when Thomas broke his right forearm. He never played again, depriving the Patriots of their best pass-rusher.

Jabar Gaffney/David Thomas/Bill Belichick

Conspired to foul things up in the 18-15 loss to the Colts that ultimately helped sabotage the season. Gaffney was wide open when he dropped what would have been a 39-yard, go-ahead TD bomb late in the third quarter. Thomas’ 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty in the fourth quarter killed what could have been the tying drive. And Belichick’s decision-making – losing a timeout on a curious replay challenge, calling his last timeout with 11 minutes left to switch from a fourth-and-1 try to a field-goal attempt – was uncharacteristically bizarre.

Randy Moss/Matthew Slater/Matt Light

Committed huge gaffes in the costly Steelers loss in late November. Moss dropped two passes (one in the end zone) in an up-for-grabs first half. Then Slater fumbled away a kickoff return that opened the floodgates in a horrific third quarter that featured two strip-sacks allowed by Light. The result – another costly AFC loss.

Page 3 of 3 - Dean Pees/Dom Capers

Except for the 4-0 closing stretch that came against lesser competition, Pees’ defense was shabby all season and looked lost when Miami unleashed its “Wildcat” offense in Week 3. (Although they did much better in the rematch.) Capers was brought in to coach up the secondary, but that turned out to be the worst part of the team and his impact seemed to be nil.

David Lee/Cam Cameron

A pair of assistant coaches who helped orchestrate remarkable turnarounds. Lee, the Dolphins’ QB coach, brought the “Wildcat” with him from Arkansas and used it to jump-start Miami’s offense. Cameron, fresh off his one-and-done, 1-15 stint as Dolphins head coach in 2007, was a smashing success as the Ravens’ offensive coordinator. With a rookie QB (Joe Flacco), Baltimore finished 11th in scoring offense and snatched away the final wild-card spot from the Patriots.

Cowboys

Nice job against the Ravens in Week 16. Thanks for letting Parcells raid the Dallas front office and coaching staff to build his latest success story in Miami. Oh, and did we salute the brilliant trade that sent tight end Anthony Fasano to the Dolphins for a song? That’s the same Fasano who wound up catching seven TD passes (including one against the Patriots in Week 3 and one against the Jets on Sunday) while becoming one of Pennington’s go-to guys. Apparently, the “D” in “Big D” stands for Dumb as a Post.